Book reviews, opinions, musings and ramblings. General bookish excitement!

Archive for the month “February, 2013”

I’ve been hearing a lot about this book lately, from reviews to recommendations. I’m a huge fan of John Green, and he and David Levithan have worked together in the past on ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’. (Which I’ve not yet read.) In itself this association is enough for me to be interested in checking out David Levithan’s work. This week I read Every Day:

‘A’ doesn’t think his life is all that strange any more. All right, to anyone else it’s probably a little weird, but he’s used to it. You see: every morning A wakes up in a different body. And each day he has to live as whichever person he’s residing in, just for the day. When he goes to sleep (or when midnight rolls around) A’s turfed out to the next body. This has been the case A’s whole life, and he’s learnt to cope: disrupt his host’s life as little as possible, make it through the day, and never, ever, tell anyone.

Until one fateful day, when he’s Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend: Rhiannon. Just another girl. An extraordinary girl; a girl A can’t forget. In spite of his better judgement, A reaches out, yearning for a connection that lasts longer than one day. But even if Rhiannon can accept his wildly unbelievable story, is it possible to love someone whose exterior changes every day? Don’t You Forget About Me:

Ah! A long-awaited book arrives at last. Isn’t that the best feeling as a reader? I’m a huge Richelle Mead fan. Her Vampire Academy series is probably the best vampire-centric YA Fantasy around.

The Indigo Spell is the third instalment of her spin-off series, Bloodlines. Our protagonist is Sydney Sage, a member of a secret society called the Alchemists: sworn to protect humans from the vampires living amongst them. Bloodlines is (largely) the story of Sydney’s evolution.

This is also a story of magic and danger, friendship and love, secrets and high stakes. Initially, Sydney was only a facilitator, ensuring that her important Vampire charge, Jill Dragomir, wasn’t discovered by the wrong people. She never anticipated finding friends in the group she’d been assigned to, yet now she can’t imagine life without them (as reluctant as she may be to admit it).

Richelle Mead’s character development is one of my favourite things about her writing. She is consistent and plausible in allowing her creations to change – and to resist change. Each character gets this treatment to a degree, from Adrian and Jill, to Eddie and Angeline. In The Indigo Spell, Sydney Sage begins to realise how different she is in some aspects: and how she hasn’t altered in others.Who Can Say If I’ve Been Changed For the Better But, Because I Knew You:

Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is true Fantasy royalty – and rightly so. The Wheel of Time is what George R R Martin is aspiring to with his Game of Thrones series at the moment. The first volume of the series, The Eye of the World, was released in 1990, although Robert Jordan began writing it in 1984.

Before the series could be completed, Jordan passed away in 2007. Prior to his death he and his wife Harriet McDougal approached Brandon Sanderson, himself an emerging (and AMAZING) fantasy author, to help finish Jordan’s story with the aid of the late author’s notes. A Memory of Light, the fourteenth and final book in the Wheel of Time series, was released in January 2013, concluding a tale that has been nearly thirty years in the telling.

I’ve read the series many times, but not for a while. In celebration of the release of the final book in the series, A Memory of Light, I’ve started on book seven and will read through to the end. I am a huge fan of not only The Wheel of Time but also Brandon Sanderson’s own fantasy work (such as The Way of Kings and the Mistborn series). Revisiting a series I’ve enjoyed as much and for as long as The Wheel of Time is a great experience: exciting and nostalgic at the same time. Lord, I’m Still Not Sure What I Stand For:

This is the first in an upcoming crossover YA/New Adult series from Hardie Grant called Smitten. They’re described as being an antidote to the many (many) paranormal heart-throbs clogging up our shelves at the moment, and as light, fun, reads with lots of pining and a happily ever after. Here’s how I found the first Smitten book, Unlucky Break:

Andi’s not having the best time. Her Dad was never in the picture, and her Mum’s just died. Her Mum never gave up fighting, but this meant that she refused to make plans for Andi, leaving her effectively stranded, with no family in Australia and very few options. Oh, yeah – and she just caught her long-term boyfriend with her best friend. So, not a great month.

When Hollywood’s darling and Andi’s estranged aunt, Cece Powers, offers her a home in LA, Andi’s mostly just relieved to have somewhere to go, even if she has no idea what she’ll do with herself once she’s there. Transplanted into the bright lights and huge city, she’ll have to learn to navigate life amongst celebrities, paparazzi and people with far too much money. She’ll also have to figure out what she wants to do and the kind of person she wants to be. It’s time to grow up – and it might also be time to fall in love. I’m Not Cool/Just A Regular Girl In An Insane World: